16 ridiculous questions guides get asked
14th October 2011
This week Wanderlust applauded the best guides in the world. Here's a collection of the most stupid things they've been asked and what they have to put up with
Earlier this week we hailed Bruno Dawsan, Gaetano Barone and Kevin Albin as the best guides in the world. As part of the Wanderlust World Guide Awards 2011 ceremony, Mark Carwardine – Awards judge and wildlife expert – took to the stage and explained what guides really have to put up with.
"Everybody outside of the travel industry thinks that being a tour guide is the best job in the world, and it is a great job in many ways. You get to travel and you get to do things that other people have to pay to do, but my main point this evening is that you must be under no illusion – being a guide is really, really hard work.”
“To be a guide you've got to be an expert in lots of different things: wildlife, culture, history, politics, you name it. You have to be a diplomat, a nanny, a psychiatrist, a paramedic, a cheerleader, you've got to be all sorts of things. You've got to be super-human.”
“What I found hardest about being a guide is the questions. You get asked questions all day long. And it's understandable for people to ask questions, as they're keen to learn and they want to know what's going on...”
But what shocked the audience the most was the 16 stupid questions Mark revealed he had heard travellers ask guides on trips around the world. Here are those questions, just for your amusement...
1. At what elevation do the deer turn to elk?
2. Do you get female sperm whales?
3. How much does Mount McKinley weigh?
4. Is there water all the way round this island?
5. Why doesn't this island float away?
6. Is all this natural? (asked in Banff National Park)
7. Would the lightening be faster if it didn't zigzag?
8. Can I bring cutlery into Australia?
9. What do you do with the snow when it melts?
10. What is actually in the unexplored part of the cave?
11. Is the water in the pool rough because it is sea water? (asked on a cruise ship)
12. Do these Canadian flags come in other colours? (asked in a souvenir shop)
13. Why have they let Hawaii become so Americanised?
14. Do we have to stay up till midnight to change our clocks?
15. Is that the same moon we get back home in Texas?
16. Am I okay to ride in the float plane with breast implants?
Want to find out more about the Wanderlust World Guide Awards 2011? Click here to find out which guide won the Gold Award and to watch video footage of the event.
Fan of Mark Carwardine? Check out Wanderlust's Christmas gift subscription – for just £24 you'll receive 8 issues, plus a FREE copy of Mark's new book, Ultimate Wildlife Experiences. Not available in books stores or online until Spring 2012!
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